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It's been anything but smooth sailing for the Vancouver Canucks this season, who entered the campaign with high expectations after winning the Pacific Division crown and advancing to Game 7 of the second round in 2023-24 but have anything but division champions this time around.
Right now, they're on the outside looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a campaign that has largely been defined by in-house drama that resulted in a blockbuster trade. After reports of a rift between star forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller were confirmed by team president Jim Rutherford, Miller was shipped to the New York Rangers.
But since the trade, Pettersson has yet to score a goal and has only three points in 10 games. He's opened up about his struggles, admitting that it weighs on his mind.
“I think about it a lot, and I haven’t been the way I want to be this year,” he said, via TSN. “I haven’t played to the expectations I have on myself or the franchise has on me, and I’ll be the first one to tell you.”
“Pressure is good; it means you care,” he continued. “If I wouldn’t care, I wouldn’t think too much about it. I want to turn it around more than anyone. Good practice today and get ready for tomorrow.”
Petterson then spoke about the need to simplify his game and make more use of his shot that enabled him to score 39 and 34 goals the last two seasons.
“Yeah, definitely, that comes with not getting looks and trying to make the perfect pass instead of simplifying it,” he said of his lack of shots. “I’ve always been a pass-first guy, but I also have a good shot. So I should use it more. Maybe not trusting it. Hopefully, that’s not a headline. But I’ll definitely look to shoot more moving forward.”
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Pettersson and the Canucks will host the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place on Wednesday night; puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 PM ET.
The Canucks traded JT Miller after his rift with Elias Pettersson
Even though both players denied it, Canucks president Jim Rutherford confirmed the existence of a rift between Pettersson and Miller that affected the rest of the dressing room.
He then traded Miller to the New York Rangers in a blockbuster move that saw Filip Chytil come to Vancouver in return. And while Miller has fit in nicely in his return to New York, Pettersson continues to struggle in Vancouver.
It'll be interesting to see if Pettersson can turn his game around over the last month-and-a-half, and whether it'll be enough to get the Canucks back into the dance in 2024-25.
